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How to create an enjoyable and efficient transport system is concentrating the minds and talents of Shanghai's urban planners and developers. With the 2010 World Expo at the forefront of their thoughts, they need to find ways to deal with the enormous challenges posed by traffic which increases almost daily.
The ongoing week-long exhibition "Urban Transportation Spaces" at Tongji University aims to offer some inspiration and maybe solutions to the problem.
The exhibition is the first stop of a global tour organized by the French-based Institute of Urban Movement, and provides examples of the answers some 30 major cities around the world have adopted in terms of design and parking areas, expressways, bridges and viaducts.
"The exhibition reflects the latest thoughts of European architects and planners and there is a lot Shanghai needs to learn so as to build itself into a world ranked city in this regard," said Wu Qidi, president of Tongji University.
Increasing public demand for a simple, efficient, safe and comfortable transport system has galvanized the city's planning authority into focusing on how to arrange public spaces where all modes of transport can co-exist.
Shanghai has been promoting itself as a pleasant city, both to live and work in, and long-term investment in a transport infrastructure, one which speeds the flow of people and traffic, is a fundamental aspect of its 21st century plans.
Development of passenger flow, cargo transport, and routes in and out of Shanghai and its environs are among the areas being targeted by the local authorities.
By 2010, the city will have more than 200 kilometres of rail lines operating, capable of carrying 5 million passengers a day with a simplified one ticket system covering all.
(China Daily April 24, 2003)
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